No Arabic abstract
The acceptance-corrected dielectron excess mass spectra, where the known hadronic sources have been subtracted from the inclusive dielectron mass spectra, are reported for the first time at mid-rapidity $|y_{ee}|<1$ in minimum-bias Au+Au collisions at $sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 19.6 and 200 GeV. The excess mass spectra are consistently described by a model calculation with a broadened $rho$ spectral function for $M_{ee}<1.1$ GeV/$c^{2}$. The integrated dielectron excess yield at $sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 19.6 GeV for $0.4<M_{ee}<0.75$ GeV/$c^2$, normalized to the charged particle multiplicity at mid-rapidity, has a value similar to that in In+In collisions at $sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 17.3 GeV. For $sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV, the normalized excess yield in central collisions is higher than that at $sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 17.3 GeV and increases from peripheral to central collisions. These measurements indicate that the lifetime of the hot, dense medium created in central Au+Au collisions at $sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV is longer than those in peripheral collisions and at lower energies.
We report the STAR measurements of dielectron ($e^+e^-$) production at midrapidity ($|y_{ee}|<$1) in Au+Au collisions at $sqrt{s_{rm NN}}$ = 200,GeV. The measurements are evaluated in different invariant mass regions with a focus on 0.30-0.76 ($rho$-like), 0.76-0.80 ($omega$-like), and 0.98-1.05 ($phi$-like) GeV/$c^{2}$. The spectrum in the $omega$-like and $phi$-like regions can be well described by the hadronic cocktail simulation. In the $rho$-like region, however, the vacuum $rho$ spectral function cannot describe the shape of the dielectron excess. In this range, an enhancement of 1.77$pm$0.11(stat.)$pm$0.24(sys.)$pm$0.33(cocktail) is determined with respect to the hadronic cocktail simulation that excludes the $rho$ meson. The excess yield in the $rho$-like region increases with the number of collision participants faster than the $omega$ and $phi$ yields. Theoretical models with broadened $rho$ contributions through interactions with constituents in the hot QCD medium provide a consistent description of the dilepton mass spectra for the measurement presented here and the earlier data at the Super Proton Synchrotron energies.
We present measurements of $e^+e^-$ production at midrapidity in Au$+$Au collisions at $sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV. The invariant yield is studied within the PHENIX detector acceptance over a wide range of mass ($m_{ee} <$ 5 GeV/$c^2$) and pair transverse momentum ($p_T$ $<$ 5 GeV/$c$), for minimum bias and for five centrality classes. The ee yield is compared to the expectations from known sources. In the low-mass region ($m_{ee}=0.30$--0.76 GeV/$c^2$) there is an enhancement that increases with centrality and is distributed over the entire pair pt range measured. It is significantly smaller than previously reported by the PHENIX experiment and amounts to $2.3pm0.4({rm stat})pm0.4({rm syst})pm0.2^{rm model}$ or to $1.7pm0.3({rm stat})pm0.3({rm syst})pm0.2^{rm model}$ for minimum bias collisions when the open-heavy-flavor contribution is calculated with {sc pythia} or {sc mc@nlo}, respectively. The inclusive mass and $p_T$ distributions as well as the centrality dependence are well reproduced by model calculations where the enhancement mainly originates from the melting of the $rho$ meson resonance as the system approaches chiral symmetry restoration. In the intermediate-mass region ($m_{ee}$ = 1.2--2.8 GeV/$c^2$), the data hint at a significant contribution in addition to the yield from the semileptonic decays of heavy-flavor mesons.
We have measured the distributions of protons and deuterons produced in high energy heavy ion Au+Au collisions at RHIC over a very wide range of transverse and longitudinal momentum. Near mid-rapidity we have also measured the distribution of anti-protons and anti-deuterons. We present our results in the context of coalescence models. In particular we extract the volume of homogeneity and the average phase-space density for protons and anti-protons. Near central rapidity the coalescence parameter $B_2(p_T)$ and the space averaged phase-space density $<f> (p_T)$ are very similar for both protons and anti-protons. For protons we see little variation of either $B_2(p_T)$ or the space averaged phase-space density as the rapidity increases from 0 to 3. However both these quantities depend strongly on $p_T$ at all rapidities. These results are in contrast to lower energy data where the proton and anti-proton phase-space densities are different at $y$=0 and both $B_2$ and $f$ depend strongly on rapidity.
The inclusive $J/psi$ transverse momentum ($p_{T}$) spectra and nuclear modification factors are reported at midrapidity ($|y|<1.0$) in Au+Au collisions at $sqrt{s_{NN}}=$ 39, 62.4 and 200 GeV taken by the STAR experiment. A suppression of $J/psi$ production, with respect to {color{black}the production in $p+p$ scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions}, is observed in central Au+Au collisions at these three energies. No significant energy dependence of nuclear modification factors is found within uncertainties. The measured nuclear modification factors can be described by model calculations that take into account both suppression of direct $J/psi$ production due to the color screening effect and $J/psi$ regeneration from recombination of uncorrelated charm-anticharm quark pairs.
We report on measurements of dielectron ($e^+e^-$) production in Au$+$Au collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV per nucleon-nucleon pair using the STAR detector at RHIC. Systematic measurements of the dielectron yield as a function of transverse momentum ($p_{rm T}$) and collision centrality show an enhancement compared to a cocktail simulation of hadronic sources in the low invariant-mass region ($M_{ee}<$ 1 GeV/$c^2$). This enhancement cannot be reproduced by the $rho$-meson vacuum spectral function. In minimum-bias collisions, in the invariant-mass range of 0.30 $-$ 0.76 GeV/$c^2$, integrated over the full $p_{rm T}$ acceptance, the enhancement factor is 1.76 $pm$ 0.06 (stat.) $pm$ 0.26 (sys.) $pm$ 0.29 (cocktail). The enhancement factor exhibits weak centrality and $p_{rm T}$ dependence in STARs accessible kinematic regions, while the excess yield in this invariant-mass region as a function of the number of participating nucleons follows a power-law shape with a power of 1.44 $pm$ 0.10. Models that assume an in-medium broadening of the $rho$ meson spectral function consistently describe the observed excess in these measurements. Additionally, we report on measurements of $omega$ and $phi$-meson production through their $e^+e^-$ decay channel. These measurements show good agreement with Tsallis Blast-Wave model predictions as well as, in the case of the $phi$-meson, results through its $K^+K^-$ decay channel. In the intermediate invariant-mass region (1.1$<M_{ee}<$ 3 GeV/$c^2$), we investigate the spectral shapes from different collision centralities. Physics implications for possible in-medium modification of charmed hadron production and other physics sources are discussed.